The first 10 games of the 2023-24 season weren't a whole lot of fun for the Los Angeles Lakers.

They scuttled to a 3-5 record, beset by injuries, unfamiliarity, and porous shooting. Entering Tuesday's In-Season Tournament matchup vs. the Memphis Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers owned a bottom-seven scoring margin (-4.9). They were back at .500 but had yet to experience a stress-free dub.

Evidently, a sputtering Grizzlies team was just what the doctor ordered. Or maybe it was the prospect of winning $500,000 in Las Vegas. Or the yellow court. Whatever the case, the Lakers finally seemed to enjoy themselves over four quarters of NBA basketball, earning a 134-107 victory. (They're now the heavy favorites to win Group A.)

“This is probably the first game where you can see we kinda just was having fun,” said Anthony Davis, who finished with a sterling performance. “Getting back to Lakers basketball — when you’re having fun and the next guy trusts you to turn a good play into a great play, or a good shot into a great shot.”

Davis' dominant two-way performance spearheaded the Lakers' success. Facing last year's Defensive Player of the Year winner, Jaren Jackson Jr., AD further cemented his early frontrunner status for this season's award.

Davis finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and six blocks in 27 minutes. JJJ, meanwhile, made one field goal in the paint and shot 3-for-16 overall.

“He's gotta stay Fro Davis,” said Austin Reaves, noting the Lakers' second straight win with Davis unbraided.

All things considered, was an ideal night for the Lakers. Ham's gut move to bring Reaves off the bench off the bench boosted the Lakers' first-half production for the third game in a row (Reaves is the first reserve ever with 16/12/7 and four 3s in a game) They were lively on both ends from the jump. Davis and a zippy LeBron James (16/9/6 in 22 minutes) enjoyed unusually light workloads on the first leg of a back-to-back.

Rui Hachimura (23 points, 8-for-10 FG) and D'Angelo Russell (24 points, 8-for-12 FG) constantly attacked (Hachimura's defensive commitment continues to earn plaudits from the locker room). The Lakers were feverishly turning stops into scores — Memphis shot 36.8% — and beating the Grizzlies up and down the court. Their ball movement was crisp, capped off by extra passes. It was easily the Lakers' most animated bench reaction game of the year.

“Played a good basketball game,” said Reaves. “Played a whole 48 minutes together. Played the right way.”

There was a lot of stuff like this:

 

Oh, and they couldn't frickin' miss from downtown.

The Lakers woke up ranked No. 29 in the league in 3-point percentage and attempts per game. It's been a nagging Achilles heel that is threatening to become a concern. They finished the day by drilling 22-of-35 from distance, thereby tying a franchise record and producing … the greatest statistical outside shooting performance in NBA history.

“The ball went in the basket, that's the pretty thing,” said Reaves. “Anytime you can shoot the 3 well, especially with Bron and AD on the court, then it allows them to be at their best … Making shots is a beautiful thing to see.”

Defense begets offense. When a team knows it has the juice from tip-off and feels collectively locked in on the defensive end, the game opens up and shots fly freely. Turns out, basketball is more fun when the ball goes in the basket.